On Friday, December 9, four of us, Brett, Mark, Nick and I, launched our kayaks from Nick’s Cove and paddled to Avila beach near the entrance to Tomales Bay where we set up camp for the night. Calm water and occasional rain prevailed over the course of the trip. We were careful to set up camp high on the beach with a high tide of 6 ft predicted for 7:40 in the morning. After setting up camp we explored the beach and tide pools. A hearty pot of soup was a welcome dinner in the cool damp environment of the Point Reyes peninsula. Over the night the rain came in and dumped on us, letting up in the morning. The biggest challenge of the morning was getting started without a pot of hot coffee. Seems somebody left the coffee in the car; which was motivation to break camp and head for the Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station.
Back on the water we found ourselves working hard to paddle up the bay against the ebbing current and with the fog down on the deck our visibility was about a half-mile. We paddled close to shore for the sake of visibility, and once we were within sight of Hog Island we make our break to cross the Bay and head back to our launch point. Not quite lost in the fog, but cautious about our navigation. We did prove that with the right equipment to stay warm and dry you can even have fun kayak camping in the fog and rain in the middle of December on Tomales Bay. Next time it’s every man for himself when it comes to the coffee. You can see additional photos from the trip here and an approximation of our route here.
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